This was a pretty pleasant surprise. Dinah loses her parents, and as a result has to move with relatives in the New England town of Bizenghast. The doctors think the young girl may not be well, maybe due to the trauma of loss, but things are not as simple as that. And the town itself is not what it seems to be. Apparently, there is this cemetery that appears and disappears, and it has trapped souls in it. And Dinah is given the task of freeing them. With the help of her friend Vincent, she sets out reluctantly to do the task. There are various types of souls and spirits, not all happy or peaceful, and each requires the solving of some kind of riddle or puzzle as part of the task. Thus begins this series.

This is a light gothic ghost story. It has some horror elements, but they are certainly light so far. The riddles provide a poetic element, and the ghosts vary in their natures and fates. This looks like the start of an entertaining series with good art to go along with the story. And it is a very easy read. ( )

Stunning art with a gothic yet fun storyline and endearing main characters. Just as enjoyable as the first time I read this series as a young teenager. ( )

This book was excellent. The Gothic atmosphere and the plot twists kept me wanting more. :) ( )

The Bizenghast series revolves around a young girl, Dinah who has lost her parents, & is living with her aunt in a creepy converted house prior boy's reform school (& previously to that a mental institution). She is a bit mentally unstable (not surprising). She and her best friend Vincent discover a cemetary in the woods and she becomes bound in contract to return every night to the place & free the ghosts one at a time. Vincent helps her despite having no obligation to.
This is quite an engaging manga series with appealing artwork. I can't put my finger on why I like the series but I do and reccomend it. These books see the "trials" (freeing the ghosts) becoming increasingly diificult while other challenges develop. ( )

I wonder what should I write about this one. I read comics all my life, from crappiest superheroes to modernist art of Fellini, Jodorowsky or brothers Hernandez. I'm realtively new to manga form - them being too expensive and all. But, since they started to publish manga (OEL and original) in my ocuntry for some kind of affordable price, I wanted to feel that universe too.

And now I'm at loss for what to say. I see gothic lolita imagerie, I see dementia and madhouses written all over it, I see nightmarish images of pure horror, misunderstanding and mystery that has yet to be unravelled. Underneath all of that I see underlying story of love and understanding, of romance begining and mysteries of childhood imagined in a certain weird kind of way that one should grow accustomed to. Putting asside all clichés of modern gothic art that appeals to all those girls with bleached faces and tight leather corsets beneath dark robes, there is certain kind of imagination present here - imagination that says - Alice Le Grow can write (and draw but that's beside the point). Being new to manga, especially to manga of this genre, I cannot say anything about cliched storytelling or any such thing, having read too little of this. All I can say is that, upon taking this volume, I was immediately transfered to world of Bizenghast, I lurked trough it's shadowed places, I traveled with Dinah in quest for my sanity, I wondered about dark mysteries that lies beneath all of it and in the process I enjoyed myself. Is it not the kind of thing any piece of art should be able to do to it's consumers? To immerse one into it's own world, and make him at home there.

Bizenghast did this to me, and I can only recommend it. Maybe my thought will change upon reaching the final volume, but that is yet to be seen. For now, adventure of travel and discovery is before me. ( )